The Penguin Credo
by Alis Grave Nil
Summary: A bunch of drabbles thrown together from a prompt table. Likely to have Kowalski/Rico. Rated just to be safe.
1. Timeline, Insides, Outsides

A/N: These drabbles come from a prompt table I found while poking around the internet. Some will be silly, some will be serious. Enjoy.

**The Penguin Credo**

**1. Beginnings**

"Kowalski, analysis."

"It's a young penguin chick, Skipper. He seems to be injured. They probably captured him in order to help him through his healing process."

He opened his eyes slowly, taking in everything around him. There were three of them standing above him, although he didn't know why. They hadn't seemed to even realize he had woken up.

"Options?"

He watched in fascination as the tallest pulled out a clipboard, scribbling down on it furiously before turning it for the others to see.

"We could drop him in the polar bear exhibit."

His eyes widened at the idea, fear gripping at his insides, especially when the one with the scar sniggered. The leader paused, considering before shaking his head.

"What else you got?"

"We could take him in and train him as part of the team."

He shrunk back as the leader's gaze suddenly snapped towards him. He felt tiny under the strong gaze, scooting back a little.

"Now that's an idea. What do you say, private?"

He didn't know what team he was joining, but it was better than becoming polar bear food, so he simply nodded.

**2. Middles**

"No! No! Stay away!"

"Sweet Galileo, don't go in there!"

"Gah!"

Skipper raised an eyebrow as he slipped through the fishbowl entrance, sliding down the ladder. His team was gathered in front of the television, wrapped up in the horror movie they'd found earlier that day.

He smirked in amusement, rolling his eyes as they cried out things to the characters. Why were humans so stupid? They just waltzed on over toward the creepy sounds without so much as a plan or weapon. Skipper turned away, planning on getting a bit of work done while they watched their movie.

An hour and a half later, he couldn't help noticing how quiet his team had become. Skipper smiled, seeing that all three had managed to fall asleep, leaning on each other a little. He stood up, grabbing three blankets and placing one over each penguin's shoulders.

"Bunch of knuckleheads." He'd grown far too attached to his team, but he didn't bother trying to fight it. Being close only made them stronger.

**3. Ends**

"Skippa'!"

He heard his name, though he couldn't quite place where it was coming from. He stumbled forward a step or two, and then back another before he finally fell back against a wall, panting heavily.

Through half-lidded eyes, he watched his men take down what was left of those dirty carnivores. He rested a hand on his stomach where he felt three slash marks, the blood sleeping out slowly and staining the white feathers of his belly.

Private was the first to run up to him, trying to look over the wound, though he obviously didn't know what to do about it. "K'walski! Rico!"

Skipper smiled slowly as the others hurried over to help. Kowalski did his best, trying to tell the leader to breathe easy, hold still while he did this and that. It was starting to lose feeling, their voices only soft echoes.

"It's… been a pleasure… boys…"

"No, Skippa'! Hold on!"

He raised a trembling fin, holding it to his head in a proud salute. The others stared at him, unsure of what to do. Finally, one by one, they returned the gesture.

Skipper closed his eyes.

**4. Insides**

"Screwdriver."

Kowalski flinched as he heard the retching sound of his teammate retrieving the needed tool. He made a face as it landed in his hand, sticky and wet, but he gave a nod of thanks anyways.

"Hammer."

There it was again. He did his best not to think too much about it, the constant regurgitation of things that shouldn't be in there anyways. The things that stomach acid could do to him.

"Pliers."

It couldn't taste that good either. Finally, Kowalski couldn't take it, turning to face Rico.

"Doesn't that hurt?"

Rico blinked slowly before shaking his head. "Nuh-uh."

"Not even a little bit?" Another shake of the head and he frowned. "If you say so…" Sighing, he turned back to his work. "Payphone."

Kowalski cringed, not even wanting to think about that one.

**5. Outsides**

"K'walski!"

The tallest penguin blinked, looking up as he heard his name being called. He removed the goggles he was wearing, raising an eyebrow as Private – only a little over a year old - bounded up to him, clinging on to him.

"What is it?" he asked the youngest member of the team, startled by his obvious panic.

"Look!" Private stepped back and brushed his flipper over his tummy. Easily, several feathers fell out. "Something's wrong with me!"

… He had to be kidding? Kowalski blinked slowly before giving a soft chuckle. He took Private by the shoulders, carefully leading him to the coffee table where he sat him down.

"Private, I assure you, nothing is wrong."

"But-"

"You're molting," Kowalski continued, cutting him off before he had time to worry too much. "It happens every year. It's perfectly natural."

"R-Really?" he asked, looking down at himself and again brushing loose feathers away. "I-I'm not going to die?"

"Really. You're just shedding your old feathers to grow back new ones. Just stay out of the water for a little while."

Private smiled widely and nodded. Kowalski shook his head, watching the youngest penguin run off. He cringed a little, watching some of his fluffy little feathers hit the ground.

Now who was going to have to sweep that up, he wondered.


	2. Time

The Penguin Credo

**6. Hours**

Skipper grunted softly as he turned over in bed, closing his eyes tightly. No matter how he moved or shifted, he couldn't find a place comfortable enough to fall asleep. He tried going over drills in his head, what to do in what situation. He tried counting sheep. Hell, he'd even stepped out for a quick run in hopes that it would just tire him out.

Nothing.

This is what he got for years of being a soldier. All that training, the hard work, the missions. It got to one. Sure he was a little paranoid, but it kept him alive, didn't it?

… It kept him awake too, sometimes.

Groaning, he turned over and looked at the clock. He watched it, the longest hand ticking away each second. One by one. Seconds became minutes. Minutes became hours. 0300 hours. 0400 hours. 0500 hours. 0600 hours.

Skipper turned over in bed as he heard a loud yawn. He watched silently as Rico dragged his feet toward the bathroom. He almost looked like he could go back to sleep in the middle of his small trip.

Lucky psycho.

**7. Days**

Rico gave a soft grunt of complaint. Kowalski didn't need to hear words to understand, tilting his head back to look at the sky. "Two days left." Another groan as the shorter penguin rolled over, covering his face with his flippers.

"How can anyone stand it?" Private asked.

Kowalski could only imagine how Skipper was feeling right now. They'd made a deal. Julien could keep his music going for five whole days so long as he promised to stay absolutely quiet for the same amount of time afterwards.

It was driving them crazy. Sure, it was catchy at first, but after hearing the same track over and over again…

The penguins jumped as Skipper climbed out of the fishbowl entrance, a deep scowl on his face. "Rico!"

The manic penguin grinned widely and coughed up a mallet. They watched admirably as their leader hopped over the fence of their exhibit, marching toward the lemur exhibit.

"Three…" Kowalski started the countdown.

"Two…" Private continued with a delighted little giggle.

"Boom!" Just as Rico yelled this, there was a smash and a shout from a very angry lemur king. The team cheered, throwing their flippers up as their leader returned, looking quite proud of himself.

Five days simply wasn't worth it.

**8. Weeks**

"No!"

Skipper jumped to attention as he heard the cry from the team's youngest member. A number of thoughts ran through his head. It could be Dr. Blowhole. It could be a tennis ball machine uprising. Whatever it was, they had to help.

"Kowalski, Rico!"

All three slid down the ladder that led into HQ, each taking on a combat stance as they landed. "Private, what is it?!" Skipper demanded, gaze darting around in search of whatever threat was waiting for them.

Private was sitting directly in front of the TV, looking like a wreck. "They left me with a cliffhanga' Skippa'!" he cried, pointing to the television, which currently read 'To be continued…'. "It'll be weeks before the next episode!"

"… A… cliffhanger?" Skipper repeated dryly, his shoulders slumping.

Kowalski blinked and shook his head, moving to waddle closer to the television. "Did Fernando finally tell Leticia how he feels?" he asked, moving to sit next to the smallest penguin.

"No, but he was close," Private answered as Rico sat on Kowalski's other side. "Then Marcia got in the way."

Ah… what the hell. Skipper moved to take a place next to Private. "Well… rewind it, Private, we want to see." The younger penguin grinned and clicked the rewind button.

**9. Months**

He couldn't even begin to describe his excitement. After waiting so long, all that hard work, doing everything he was told, not matter how difficult. All that time perfecting and practicing.

"Private," Skipper spoke, holding himself to his full height. On each side of him were Kowalski and Rico, their flippers folded dutifully behind their backs.

"Yes Skippa'?" Private asked, doing his best to look proper, like a good little soldier. Three weeks learning the basics. Two months learning the harder stuff. Another two learning the strategies. Three months becoming a part of the team, learning the others movements, their _thoughts._

"You've trained hard," Skipper continued, smiling proudly down at the youngest penguin. "You've passed every test we've handed to you."

Finally, it was here.

The leader took a deep breath. "You are officially part of the team." All three gave a sharp salute in time with one another.

Private returned the salute, a huge grin worn across his beak. "Oh, thank you, Skippa'!" He hopped from one foot to the other, his enthusiasm getting the best of him. "I won't let you down, sir, I promise!"

Months of blood, sweat, and tears. It was worth it.

**10. Years**

It had never been anyone's fault. It'd been such a small slip-up, but on a mission, one slip-up can end in disaster. Private hated it from the very beginning. The others were all angry at each other. They would argue and, at one point, even fight.

That's what had done them in. After that they just sort of… broke apart.

It'd been years since then, though. Surely they couldn't stay mad. They were a team, after all. So connected it was like they could read each others minds. After several trips and persuading speeches, he managed to get a time and place that everyone could meet.

Skipper was the first to arrive. No surprise. Private perked up considerably, seeing the leader. "Skippa'!"

"Private," he returned a little awkwardly, holding himself straight.

"I'm glad you're here."

Skipper looked away, fidgeting uncomfortably. Private smiled and waited. Before he knew it, Kowalski showed up as well. "Am I late?" he asked carefully, gaze flickering between the other two.

"A little earlier," Private answered, cheered to see him as well. Perhaps this could work.

A grunt caught all their attention, as Rico landed (he'd probably jumped from a tree) a few feet away. There was a long silence in which no one knew what to say. They just took in the sight of their former teammates.

"So…" Kowalski laughed nervously.

Private decided to try and break the awkwardness. "Look at you guys. You all missed each other, right? Otherwise you wouldn't be here!"

There was another brief silence. Skipper took a deep breath, sucking up his pride. "Private's right. What do you say, boys?" he held out his flipper.

Delighted, Private immediately put his flipper on the former leaders. Slowly, Kowalski smiled, his flipper joining the others. All eyes turned to Rico. The manic penguin chuckled lowly, resting his flipper on top of everyone else's.

"We're a team," Skipper announced. "No matter what."


	3. Colors

**The Penguin Credo**

**11. Red**

Kowalski grinned, pressing the buttons on the video game controller as rapidly as he possibly could without thumbs. Next to him, he could see Rico becoming quickly frustrated with the game. He hadn't taken the time to learn button combinations like the taller penguin had, and his fighter was quickly losing as he button-mushed.

"Sorry Rico, looks like I'm going to win again," Kowalski chuckled as his character drop-kicked Rico's, sending his life bar down into the red zone.

Rico growled softly, glancing at his teammate. He had undeniable concentration. He wondered what would happen if it was broken for a moment. Smirking psychotically, he leaned toward the other penguin, nudging his shoulder with his beak.

"Rico," Kowalski furrowed his brows in annoyance, never tearing his eyes away from the screen. At least, not until he felt a teasing nip at the side of his neck. His eyes widened and he turned his head.

Rico's beak lightly rubbed against his. Kowalski was stunned. The manic penguin grinned and turned his eyes back to the screen. With a few attacks, he managed to take out the taller penguin's character. Chuckling, he stood up and walked away.

Kowalski could only stare, his face a dark red beneath his feathers.

**12. Orange**

It was beautiful. Nothing in the world was quite like it, could ever be like it. And it was with adrenaline-charged fascination that he watched it. Watched the way the fire rolled with the force, an elegant dance so unmistakably dangerous and elegant at the same time. Watched the way the smoke twisted, forever reaching toward the sky.

It cast an orange glow over everything, and with it, an intense heat that reminded him. There is always danger in beauty. He couldn't deny the thrill he got from the idea.

"Rico!"

Blinking in surprise, the manic penguin turned his gaze as he heard his name called. Several feet behind him, he could see the others waiting impatiently for him. Grinning, he turned to follow them.

He'd see it again. Soon.

**13. Yellow**

"Skippa', I'm not sure I understand this," Private admitted, peering down at himself. There were several splashes of yellow paint over both himself and the others. He knew their leader had to have a reason for it, but what it was, he couldn't figure.

"It's training, young Private," Skipper reminded him, rolling his eyes a little.

"Well… I know that, but…"

Sighing in exasperation, Skipper put his flippers on his hips. "You men have been lacking lately. I've noticed mistakes, so I thought you needed a little wake up call." The others remained silent, waiting for him to explain further. "Each spot of yellow you see on your body is a strike that could have been fatal."

There was a long silence between the group. Each tried to count how many paint spots they had, and none liked the results. They each swallowed nervously.

Sometimes they forgot just how dangerous what they did was.

**14. Green**

"Go boys, go!"

They slid over the dock on their stomach, each performing a flip off the edge and landing in a speedboat. Behind them the human's yelled, franticly trying to get the small ice chest they'd taken.

"Kowalski!"

The intellectual penguin went to work hotwiring the boat. It wasn't long before the motor roared. Skipper took the wheel, and they started zooming away.

"Rico!"

Rico spit up a smoke bomb, tossing it toward the dock. It exploded, leaving the humans coughing and sightless for the moment.

"Private!" There was a pause. Skipper blinked, glancing over his shoulder in time to see the youngest member of the team hoist himself onto the boats edge, releasing the contents of his stomach. "… Private?"

"S-Seasickness Skippa'," Private coughed, slowly dropping back down, a flipper holding his stomach.

"For the love of Mama Nature, man, you're a penguin!" Sighing, Skipper motioned for Kowalski to take the wheel. He grabbed a piece of ice from the stolen ice chest, carefully tending to the smallest penguin.

Private smiled woozily. "Thank you, Skippa'."

**15. Blue**

"This is the life, boys," Skipper commented, smiling.

"Sure is, Skippa'," Private agreed, adjusting the large sunglasses that nearly swallowed his small face. He pushed them up onto the top of his head, staring up at the clear sky. "It's so blue… How's it get like that?"

Kowalski smiled, sipping his drink. "Sunlight reaches the Earth's atmosphere and is scattered by the gases and particles in the air. Blue light waves are scattered more because they travel as shorter, faster light waves." Glancing to the side, he caught several confused looks. Smiling sheepishly, "Sorry."

All four turned their eyes back to the sky. Rico gave a small grunt and Skipper grinned. "You said it, Rico."

They savored their time just soaking up the sun, letting their day off pass by. All at once, the four penguins released a contented sigh.


	4. RicoKowalski

Just a warning, this one will have some pretty strong Kowalski/Rico. In fact, it's all Rico/Kowalski. XD And Yeah, I know there's only three in this one. That's cause I wanted a page that's all these two. What can I say? I love 'em.

**The Penguin Credo**

**16. Teammates**

Kowalski was tired of this psycho. What did Skipper expect to accomplish, choosing someone who could barely function long enough to speak more than a word or two? Simply being around Rico made him nervous, sure that something was going to happen.

Releasing a heavy breath, Kowalski glanced to the side. The manic penguin was in the tree beside him. It was a simple recon mission, but he couldn't help feeling anxious. The unstable penguin could do any number of things to turn this from recon into full-fledged battle.

A deep roar caught his attention, his gaze snapping to the side. He wasn't much of one for swearing, but the jaguar glowering at them allowed him to make an exception. "Shit!"

He and Rico hopped down from the tree as the beast began to climb it, sliding on their bellies to get away. Suddenly, the jaguar bounded in front of Kowalski, forcing him to stop. His eyes widened and he took a step back, his heart pounding. There was no way he could get away from this creature alone. Fight, maybe, but he was in no way the strongest fighter.

Maybe if he-

All thoughts stopped as he heard a whistle. Both his and the jaguar's attention turned to see Rico grinning, waving himself tauntingly at the creature. It snarled, turning to start after him. Kowalski watched in amazement. Rico simply stood there, waiting as it sprinted toward him.

Waited… waited…

_Kaboom!_

For the longest time, Kowalski could only continue to stare, his jaw slack. Rico waddled up to him, covered in soot and jaguar blood. Not exactly pleasant, but he wore a big grin on his face anyways.

Kowalski swallowed thickly. "Uh…"

"Kaboom!"

Slowly, Kowalski smiled, giving a nod. "Right… kaboom." He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. Perhaps he could learn to trust him…

**17. Friends**

Kowalski released a deep breath, staring miserably at the picture sitting in front of him. He sipped his 'love shake' slowly, trying to make it last in hopes that the fruity bliss might drown out his depression a little longer.

He'd known it all along, really. Skipper had told him on more than one occasion, but he'd held on to the hope that maybe… just maybe she might have just been… hiding her feelings. He should have known better.

"Ah, Doris, it seems we were never meant to be." He took the picture by the frame, pushing it face down so that he wouldn't have to think about it. He tried to think of formulas. X equals negative B plus or minus the square root of B squared minus 4AC all over 2A… or was it 3? Was he really so distracted that he couldn't remember the quadratic formula?

"K'walski."

The intellectual penguin jumped a little in surprise, turning his attention at the sound of his name. Blinking owlishly, he realized it was only Rico, who was looking at him with his head cocked slightly to the side.

"Oh… um… yes, Rico?"

Rico had a deep frown on his face, and slowly, Kowalski realized he held an expression of what actually appeared to be… concern. Shaking his head, he turned his eyes to his shake.

"Oh, don't worry about me, Rico. I'm just as chipper as ever."

The manic penguin wasn't convinced. He sat down next to Kowalski, remaining silent as was per usual. Kowalski swallowed thickly, his gaze still turned away. He felt a flipper slide around his shoulders and carefully, the shorter penguin pulled him closer.

Closing his eyes, Kowalski released a deep breath.

"Thank you, Rico."

**18. Lovers**

Kowalski smiled slowly as he was pulled into the world of consciousness, concentrating on the light nuzzles on the back of his neck. He didn't bother opening his eyes yet, just enjoying the comfortable warmth provided by the body so close to his own.

He felt the gentle vibrations of a rumbling chuckle on his skin. He felt flippers traveling up his sides playfully, shivering beneath the touch. "Rico…" he murmured happily. Such addicting sensations, so surprisingly tender coming from the scarred penguin.

Kowalski turned around slowly to face Rico, opening his eyes. "Since when are you an early riser?" he asked lowly, leaning forward to rub their beaks together lightly. He eared a soft grunt of response, and shook his head, smiling. "That's not to say I'm not…" he blushed, ducking his head a little to hide his face "… enjoying new alarm system, of course…"

Rico released a soft purring sound. Kowalski guessed it meant that he enjoyed it as well. He smiled, closing his eyes and enjoying the attentions from the other penguin.

"Uh… guys?"

Kowalski's eyes snapped open. He turned quickly, his gaze falling on none other than Private. The tallest penguin's face turned dark read. "P-Private…" he laughed nervously, covering his face with his flippers. "Hi. How long have you been there?"

"J-Just a little while…" Private cleared his throat, looking away. "Uh, Sk-Skippa' wants us all upstairs pronto."

Not daring to look, Kowalski simply nodded, still hiding behind his flippers. "Thank you, Private. Could you…?"

"R-Right." Private turned around, hurrying off quickly.

Slowly, Kowalski uncovered his face again. Seeing that Private was gone he sighed, turning back to face Rico. "We should, uh-" Rico chuckled again, obviously not quite as embarrassed. He moved on top of the taller penguin, starting to nuzzle his neck again. "R-Rico! Skipper said-"

A little 'hmph' sound that the manic penguin made told Kowalski that Skipper would have to wait.


	5. One

A/N: Yeah, another shorter one, but I loved doing this one. ^^

**The Penguin Credo**

**19. Mind**

Kowalski pulled the goggles over his eyes, watching the little symbols cross his vision as he scanned over the land. "Area is secure, Skipper," he announced into his two-way radio. He jumped down from the tree, sliding along the rope and landing solidly on the ground.

He stepped carefully through the brush of the jungle, keeping himself alert and ready. "I'm getting a reading on larger life forms close by. We'll have to be careful."

"_Affirmative,"_ came the response on the other line. _"Keep your eyes peeled, Kowalski. If there's any sign of trouble, get out of there, got it?"_

"Got it," Kowalski responded, turning around. Now if only he could find-

The tallest penguin stopped dead in his tracks as he came face to face with a pair of large, yellow eyes. He swallowed thickly. "Skipper… I could use some back up."

**20. Body**

Skipper's eyes widened as he heard the contained panic in Kowalski's voice. "Rico, go!" he ordered sharply.

Rico saluted and shot off, sliding on his belly in the direction that the strategies expert had gone. A couple yards behind him, he could hear Skipper and Private, but he focused on his given mission.

He hopped up again as he spotted the familiar figure of his teammate. Kowalski was fighting as well as he could, but it was a battle already lost against three wolves. Rico regurgitated a chainsaw and the buzz caught the beasts' attention.

Three sets of eyes widened and Rico grinned as they whimpered, turning tail to run. The weapons expert was almost disappointed. Almost.

"Nice work, Rico!" Skipper praised, patting the hefty penguin on the back. He turned his attention to the injured Kowalski, frowning.

**21. Heart**

"Private!"

Private acted quickly, nodding and waddling quickly to their hurt teammate. "That was pretty brave, K'walski," he told him, smiling. Rico regurgitated the needed medical supplies, and the smallest penguin began to wrap the wounds.

"I would rather have not needed to be brave," Kowalski responded. He chuckled, but the movement caused his wounds to jostle and he cringed.

"Careful," Private told him, patting Kowalski's shoulder before continuing. "Are you alrigh'?"

"I think I'll be fine."

"Good." The shorter penguin made sure the wounds were tightly wrapped and stood up again. He offered a large smile, holding out a flipper to help Kowalski up. The intellectual returned the smile in thanks and took the flipper, pulling himself up.

"Thank you, Private."

**21. Soul**

"Are we still a go for Operation: Grease Lightning, Skippa'?" Private asked hesitantly, turning his eyes to the team leader.

Skipper frowned, turning his eyes to Kowalski. "Still fit for duty, Kowalski?"

The strategies expert frowned, testing the weight from one leg to the other before giving a small nod. "Affirmative, Skipper."

Skipper smiled, proud of his team's strength. He put his flippers on his hips, fully facing the other three. "I won't lie to you boys. There's going to be some trouble here. Wolves travel in bigger packs than three."

Private swallowed thickly, straightening himself. One each of his sides were Rico and Kowalski, who listened just as closely to the leader.

"But if we get this done, we won't have to deal with them again any time soon." Skipper's gaze traveled over each of them. "I know we can do it. From now on we stay together. No one goes ahead, understand?" Another nod from the others. "We work as one, just as we've trained. Now…" he paused, smiling slowly. "Who's ready to send those mutts crying to their mommies?"

All four cheered in unison.


	6. Songs

A/N: I went back and reread these drabbles and decided to continue them, as long as I have ideas. xDD I'm working on all sorts of things. Anyways, what I did on these ones is I put my mp3 player on shuffle and named each piece after the song that came on. You guys should try it, it's a lot of fun. ^^

**The Penguin Credo**

**23. Beautiful World **_by Colin Hay_

Private sat on the zoo's gate, in front of the large bell placed on top. He stared out at the city that never sleeps. It always hid the stars, but the lights that painted the sky instead made up for it, in his own opinion. It wasn't natural, but even humans could create wonderful things. New York at night was definitely one of those.

"Private."

He youngest penguin looked up as he heard his leader's voice, a smile spreading over his beak. "Hello Skippa. Care to join me."

"You're not supposed to be out here alone," Skipper pointed out, taking a seat at the edge next to Private. "Never swim alone, remember?"

"I know. Sorry Skippa. I just wanted to look out here."

"Air recon?" Skipper asked, smirking. "Good man."

"No," Private answered, shaking his head. "Just looking at the city is all."

Skipper raised an eyebrow, following the younger penguin's eyes out to the city. He could hear the traffic, the humans screaming at each other. New York had a distinct scent to it as well, like garbage and gasoline and other chemicals. He made a face. "Why?"

The younger penguin was close to rolling his eyes, but managed to fight the urge. "Because it's beautiful."

Skipper sent him a dry look. "Yeah, alright Private."

"I'm serious, Skippa!" Private shook his head, pointing to the city. "Just look at the lights. All in a pattern." He grinned as he saw a billboard light up some distance away, creating a heart with what looked like a pair of names in it. He couldn't quite tell, as he couldn't really read. "Look, isn't that sweet?" he practically squealed with delight."

The leader chuckled, shaking his head and standing up. "You're too innocent, Private." Private didn't seem to mind as he walked away. To be honest, he was glad that Private was still so naive. He was young. He needed to see the beauty in the world before he saw the bad.

**24. Apple Store Love Song** _by Fatty Spins_ (yes, I know. xDD)

"Move out men!"

The penguins fanned out, sliding on their bellies across linoleum floor. It had been a long time since they had to go to an electronics store, but ever since the lemurs broke in and destroyed their TV, they'd become bored out of their mind. Finally Skipper consented to getting a new one, much to the others' delight.

"What about this one, Skippa?" Private asked, pointing to a huge, 42 inch TV.

"Woah." Skipper blinked at the television that could easily fit all four of them inside of it, as well as possibly Marlene, the chimps, and the lemurs. "Sorry Private, we can't fit that into the HQ. And luck boys?"

There was a silence. Skipper blinked, turning his eyes. When he saw what had distracted them, he rolled his eyes. Kowalski appeared to actually be drooling over. And Rico... Rico looked very annoyed by it, glaring at the computer as if it had wronged him in some way. Poor psycho. His affections for Kowalski were obvious, but unfortunately, as smart as Kowalski was, sometimes he ws clueless.

"Kowalski!"

"It has a multi-core processor, Skipper!" Kowalski cried, hopping from foot to foot eagerly. "Can we keep it? Please? Pleasepleaseplease?"

"No," Skipper answered simply.

"Why?" Kowalski whined like a child, looking longingly at the computer.

"Maybe 'cause it won't live long with Rico there," Private suggested with a little giggle.

Kowalski blinked, turning to look at Rico. The hefty penguin was holding a chainsaw, getting ready to split the computer in two. "Gah! No! Don't hurt her!" Kowalski tackled him.

Skipper rolled his eyes, looking at the youngest penguin. "C'mon Private. We'll let them settle it."

**25. You Had a Bad Day** _by Daniel Powter_

"Damn it!"

The penguins remained silent as Skipper grabbed the nearest object, his coffee cup, hurling it across the room and causing it to shatter against the concrete wall. Private visibly flinched at the sound it created. Kowalski rested a hand on his back to comfort him some, despite being nervous himself.

"Skippa, we couldn't stop it," Private pointed out quietly.

"Yes we could've!" Skipper snapped, immediately silencing him. "There are all things we could've done! We could've traveled together. We could've stopped Blowhole sooner! I could've gone back for them!"

"I?" Rico repeated.

The others hadn't missed it either, Skipper switching from 'we' to 'I'. Kowalski frowned. "It was their own fault, Skipper..." He hated to say it, but it was. Manfredi and Johnson had always gotten themselves into trouble... It had just finally caught up with them.

Skipper took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "But I'm the leader. I should've... should've trained them better."

Private found Skipper another mug, making him some coffee and adding in a fish. Rico and Kowalski led Skipper to the table and Private set the mug before him.

Skipper released a deep sigh, staring down at his cup. "I could've helped them."

"Nuh-uh," Rico grunted.

"Rico's right," Kowalski told him.

Private nodded in agreement. "You did all you could, Skippa."

The leader took a sip of his coffee, fiddling with the fish tail miserably. "And it still wasn't enough."


End file.
